


Leap of Faith

by A_Lily_In_The_Moonlight



Series: The Aftermath [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Grief/Mourning, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Resilience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 09:23:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8199941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Lily_In_The_Moonlight/pseuds/A_Lily_In_The_Moonlight
Summary: You can say what you want about Ginny Weasley, but defeat isn't part of her vocabulary. In the wake of traumatising events and whatever life throws at her, she only has one motto:"Is that all you've got?"





	

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and (constructive) criticism are super welcome! English isn't my first language so it's likely I've made a few mistakes. Don't hesitate to point them out, I'll correct them asap.
> 
> Thank you for your time and enjoy!

**August 5 th, 1998**

    Ginny woke up suddenly and completely in the darkness of her bedroom. One second she was still in her deep, dreamless sleep – the next her eyes were wide open, mind clear and rested. She pushed her quilt aside and got up, taking the wand on her bedside table to switch the light on. It was still night outside, she noticed as she passed in front of the window to take some clothes in the cupboard. She wasn’t overly surprised, to say the truth; she rarely ever woke after dawn, these days. She got dressed quickly, grabbed a bag and opened her bedroom door as silently as she could. She tiptoed down the stairs to the empty and silent kitchen, the light from her wand creating weird, moving shadows in every corner, and put enough food in her bag to make a decent breakfast, before swinging it on her shoulder and stepping out in the cold and misty night. There only she took a moment to stop and breathe, watching the half-moon shine through the clouds, feeling the fresh wind tousle her long hair. The oppressive feeling in her chest was gone. Ginny sighed in relief and walked, more slowly, to the shed at the end of the garden. Everyone was asleep, at this hour, she thought as she opened the door and retrieved her broom. It would be only her and the night sky for at least one more hour. She tied her hair in a high ponytail, magically chaining the broom so that it followed her when she walked to the Quidditch field, and put a Disillusionment Charm on both of them. She was already straddling the broom when she heard steps behind her. She immediately turned around, wand at the ready and broom swiftly responding to her commands to rise from the ground, so that she would be able to move faster.

    "It’s just me," said the silhouette in front of her, raising its empty hands for her to see.

    She lowered her wand but didn’t go back to the ground.

    "What are you doing out here at this hour?" she asked.

    "I could ask you the same question."

    "I think the answer is pretty obvious."

    There was a silence, as neither of them felt like engaging an actual conversation.

    "Wanna join in?" she proposed reluctantly.

    "I just–"

    The silhouette shook its head.

    "I just like walking alone at night, when I can’t sleep. Calms me down."

    She nodded, even though he probably couldn't see her, hidden as she was with the Disillusionment Charm.

    "Well, I’ll just be on my way then," she said finally.

    "Yeah…"

    She turned back, eager to escape the awkwardness and find some calm again in the silence and loneliness, but as she started to rise, she heard the silhouette call again from the ground.

    "Wotcher, Gin," it said.

    She looked down, and a small smile tugged at her lips.

    "Wotcher, Percy," she answered.

 

    It had been like that ever since Fred’s death – not the nightly encounters with her older brothers, although she _had_ seen some of them snooping around at times – but the waking up at odd hours after a dreamless night. It felt like a switch: it turned off when she laid her head on the pillow, blacking her out almost instantly, and turned on at whatever time her brain saw fit, usually about six or seven hours after she had gone to bed. She didn’t mind, really; in fact she was rather grateful that the nightmares who had woken her up incessantly during her Hogwarts years were finally giving her some slack. And the waking up early, or earlier than she was used to at least, had so many perks she wouldn’t know where to start.

    She closed her eyes, trying to empty her mind as the broom rose gently, meter by meter, the air around her getting colder as the minutes passed. When she opened them again and looked up, the moon looked just as far as it had from the ground, but she was much closer to the clouds. She looked down to the fields far, far below, trying to see her house; she seemed to have drifted further east than intended, the wind was much stronger than she had expected at this height. Dizziness seized her as she watched the emptiness beneath her, and her fingers gripped the wood.

    "Come on, Gin," she told herself between gritted teeth.

    With an effort that felt physically painful, she passed one leg over the handle, and sat a moment amazon-like, her hands still gripping the broom tightly on each side of her hips. Then she sighed deeply, relaxed, and let go.

    The first seconds of the fall stretched like they were turning into minutes, her veins flowing with pure terror as gravity pulled her towards the ground, the feeling of _falling_ overwhelming her senses. The speed was terrifying, although she was so high the earth only seemed to get close very slowly. Her eyes wide open, pony tail flapping above, she opened her mouth, and let out a loud scream of fear and joy, getting closer and closer to the ground. Turning her head to the right, she extended her hand to catch the broom, still magically bound to her, and managed to slip it underneath her body, speeding even faster towards the earth. In the light of the setting moon, she only started to pull the broom up to slow and stop the fall about a hundred meters above the soft-looking grass of a meadow. Disheveled and grinning madly, she finally came to a stop, her body warm with the sudden absence of wind, face flushed and heart beating faster than ever, adrenaline flowing through her veins.

    Alive.

    Still grinning, she closed her eyes, lowering much more slowly towards the ground, reveling in the feeling and taking big breaths. When her heartbeat got back to a more normal rhythm, she got off the broom, untied her hair and started walking north, across the meadows and through the woods. As far as she had drifted, she still knew the country well enough to make her way to Andromeda’s house – and it was early enough that she could get there before Harry left for the Ministry. The moon had finally set, but no light came from the horizon, and the woods were dark and noisy with the sound of a thousand nocturnal animals roaming about. She knew she should be at least a little scared, what with the Death-Eaters and other beasts on the loose, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She hadn’t grown reckless, exactly, but she felt confident enough in her powers and her strength that if someone – or something – attacked her right now, she would actually welcome the fight. Which, in itself, _was_ reckless, she guessed, but well… not much compared to the thrill of the battle, she had found out. Except for flying, obviously. Or falling down from the sky. At least, that last one usually kept her thirst for adrenaline in check for a day or two, and wasn’t as dangerous as Apparating all over the country to the most sordid places she knew to pick a fight with the nightlife that crawled there. _That_ , in her humble opinion, was reckless. And she no longer did it. But taking a walk in the woods before dawn? Come on, that was borderline _reasonable_.

    Before long, the first rays of sun appeared through the branches, and she jumped back on her broom to go faster. The house wasn’t far, and she didn’t stop in front of the magical wards, who probed her while she flew right through them, sending chills down her spine. But she was allowed inside the perimeter, and she flew right to Harry’s window, opening it with a flick of her wand and getting inside the warm and messy room. The double bed was unmade and empty, clothes and books shattered on the bed-side table and the floor, and a crib – empty, too – had been installed in a corner since the last time she had been here. She supposed Harry had finally made good on his threat to keep Ted with him at night – Andromeda had proven pretty much useless in matters regarding the care of her grandson, devastated as she was by the death of her daughter and son-in-law, so soon after her husband himself had passed. Ginny supposed that Bellatrix’s death only added to her pain, even though Andromeda hadn’t seen her sister for decades and condemned everything the Death-Eater had become. Compared to the old woman, really, she was lucky. Ginny had only lost one brother, after all.

    She shook her head, getting rid of the depressing thought, and undid the bond that kept her broom within easy reach. Harry must be taking his breakfast in the kitchen, she mused, sitting on the bed and shrugging off her coat. The thought made her stomach grumble, and she fished an apple from her bag. She had only taken the first bite when the door opened and a very wet, very bare chested Harry entered the room, a towel around his hips. Her eyes widened as he instinctively reached for his wand and she barely had the time to cast a _Protego_ before his hex shattered on a hastily conjured shield.

    "Harry, it’s me!" she exclaimed, wand at the ready and apple still in the other hand.

    A look of slow realization washed on her boyfriend’s face, but he didn’t lower his wand.

    "Sorry," he said carefully. "I’m still half-asleep."

    "Put that away, will you?" she asked, nodding to his wand.

    "You first."

    "So you can curse me into oblivion? It’s _me_ , Harry."

    "Prove it."

    She sighed and lowered her wand a little.

    "I passed through the wards. Isn’t that proof enough?"

    "You could have disabled them, or fooled them."

    "No, I couldn’t," she disagreed. "But go on, ask me a question."

    Harry’s eyes were less wary now, but he hadn’t relaxed completely. Still, the danger that crackled in the room was exhilarating, and she decided to add a little to it by throwing her wand to him. He caught it easily – his Seeker skills were always sharp – and raised his eyebrows.

    "That was very stupid," he commented, as she sat cross-legged on his bed.

    She shrugged.

    "You already know it’s me. If you had caught a Death-Eater in your room, they wouldn’t be sitting on your bed eating an apple, would they?"

    She took another bite of the fruit just to prove her point, and Harry’s features relaxed as a small smile tugged at his lips.

    "Come on, ask," she said, grinning smugly.

    Harry smiled back, a tad mischievously.

    "When was the first time you said you loved me?"

    Ginny took another bite of the apple and stood up.

    "I didn’t," she said.

    Harry chuckled and finally lowered his wand, throwing hers back – she caught it easily, Chaser’s skills always sharp. They stood silently in front of each other, smiling at the easiness of their familiar banter.

    "Weren’t you taught to get dressed before you greet your girlfriend?" she teased. "You’re hardly decent, Harry."

    The young man blushed as he finally seemed to realize how undressed he was, and he Accioed some clothes.

    "Turn around," he requested.

    She hesitated, biting her lower lip, and Harry’s eyes twinkled. The room was crackling with a different sort of energy now – although possibly not that different.

    "Turn around, Gin," he repeated half-heartedly. "I can’t be late."

    "You’re such a party-pooper," she sighed, before complying with a pout.

    The sounds of him getting dressed were almost enough to make her turn back, but she stayed still until she felt two – very much _not_ bare – arms close in around her waist, and a chaste kiss placed on her neck.

    "I’m sorry," he said. "I just – I can’t."

    She rolled her eyes and turned around to kiss him properly, her hands wandering onto the previously naked chest – but he stopped her again. She almost moaned in frustration.

    "I can’t, Gin," he repeated. "Please."

    The frustrated teenager battled with the more mature part of Ginny in her head, and then she sighed and settled for an embrace.

    "Sorry," she said. "You’re just too much of an eye-candy for me to handle. Stop going around half-naked, will you?"

    "How was I supposed to know you were there?" he laughed.

    "You should just assume I’m going to be here," she retorted mercilessly. "In your room, in your bed, in your shower–"

    "Gin…"

    "Okay, okay. Sorry. Do you have time to talk, at least? How are you doing?"

    He glanced at his watch.

    "I need to be at the Ministry in five minutes," he said. "Can you come back tonight? We’ll have time to talk after I put Teddy to bed."

    "I’ll try," she promised, placing a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Let me at least walk you there?"

    "To the fireplace?" he laughed. "Sure, if it’s not too far for your taste…"

    She shut him up with another kiss.


End file.
